A Newcomer's Guide to the Trappists

New Cistercian Saints - St. Raphael Arnaz Baron

What led the church to canonize the Trappist monk Rafael Arnaiz Baron a saint?

“I want nothing other than God. His will shall be my will. My only desire is to unite myself absolutely with the will of Jesus – I want to die loving the will of God.” With these words St. Rafael, suffering from diabetes, died at the young age of 27 in the monastery of St. Isidoro in Spain. Even in the midst of the intense suffering in which these words were spoken, one can hear in Rafael's voice the joy that marked his attractive personality. A teen-age friend described him as “Elegant, dignified, artistic and, above all, devoted to God.” As a young man, Rafael studied architecture and, under the influence of a devout aunt and uncle, visited the St. Isidoro monastery for the first time. After completing his military service in the Corps of Engineers from 1932 to 1933, Rafael's thoughts returned to the monastery and he wrote to the abbot: “Our Lord has worked in me in such a way that I have come to the firm purpose of giving myself to him with all my heart, my body, and my soul. And to carry out my resolution and my decision, and counting on the help of God, I desire to enter the Cistercian Order. Therefore, if you will receive me in community with your sons, be assured that you are receiving a very happy soul with much love for God!” And a very happy Trappist he was! Entering as a novice in January of 1934, he wrote to his family: “God has made the Trappists for me and me for the Trappists – now I can die happy. I'm a Trappist!” Assigned to dig roots of the frozen ground in January, he wrote home: “The work in the fields is happiness.” However, God's mysterious providence ordained that Rafael enjoyed this blessed life for about four months when he was quite suddenly overtaken by a crushing attack of diabetes so violent that over the course of several days he lost fifty pounds and became nearly blind. In May of 1934, he was forced to leave the monastery to recover his health, returned to the monastery in January, 1936 and had to leave again in September because called to military service, but then declared unfit for military service because of his health. In February 1937 he fell sick once again and had to leave the monastery, but returned there to die later in the year. On April 26, 1938, Rafael gave up his soul to God already regarded by many who knew him as a saint. He was canonized on September 27, 1992 by Pope John Paul II. The personality of this uniquely joyful soul found expression in his personal journals which are read widely today. Notable in his character is a certain sense of urgency; an impatience to break through the veil of appearances to be plunged and be completely absorbed in the life of God. Why was he canonized? Because his life testified to a consuming passion for God which he said “yes” to with all his heart and soul.

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Our website intends to answer the needs of men and women discerning a call from God to a be a Trappist monk or nun. If what you see and read here awakens in you a desire to follow Christ in the silence and solitude of a Trappist monastery, know that this is God working in your heart in response to our prayers. Please contact us and be assured that we are ready to offer you our love and assistance in your discernment process.